


Gravity

by LilAnnieSunshine



Series: SasuSaku Month 2020 [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Genin Era, Goodbyes, Introspection, SasuSaku Month 2020, Uchiha Sasuke Has Issues, Uchiha Sasuke-centric, for the implication, sasuke wants to restore his clan, that's why this is rated t
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:16:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25044508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilAnnieSunshine/pseuds/LilAnnieSunshine
Summary: "It's only when he puts her down that he feels the gravity of what he's done."Sasuke's goodbye to Sakura from his point of view.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke
Series: SasuSaku Month 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1812370
Kudos: 52





	Gravity

He knows what he needs to do to get strong enough to kill Itachi. He feels nothing as he packs up the backpack he took on more missions than he can count. He fills it with the essentials and a few Uchiha artifacts he’d rather keep on him than leave in an empty home.

He makes his bed the same way he’d done every day as if this time wasn’t the last time. _“The last time for now.”_ He says to himself. He will return to the village his family called home as soon as their lives were avenged. Until then, he couldn’t rest.

He leaves his headband. He won’t need it where he’s going. He can’t commit to the path of a Leaf Village Shinobi and has no plan to pretend any further. From now on, he’ll walk his own path.

He spares a glance at his team photo the only personal affect in the otherwise Spartan room. He turns the picture away from him without another thought.

He locks up the home, knowing full well a squad is just going to break in and tear apart the place looking for any evidence of where he was going.

He knows it won’t take them long to figure out, every head honcho in the village, several jonin, and every Chunin Exam proctor knows his history with Orochimaru. They’ll be hot on his tail soon enough, that’s why he’s leaving at night, there won’t be any fanfare this way and he can put some distance between himself in the village.

_Distance_ is what he needs more than anything. With each step he feels lighter. With each step he’s leaving behind his old life and becoming a new person.

_Of course,_ he runs into Sakura. The girl seems to have a sixth sense when it comes to reading his feelings. She may not know the cause behind them, or the depth, but she certainly knows when he’s hurting. _Of course,_ her senses would lead her here tonight of all nights.

He keeps his eyes forward, looking through her, doing his best to ignore her pained expression. “It’s the middle of the night. What are you hanging around here for?” Really, she should be in bed.

She’s the last person he wants to see. With Naruto he could beat the loser to a pulp before making a run for it, of course Naruto would make a lot of noise. With Kakashi he would have to play a game of wits and hope he could get away from the far more experienced man. He knew Kakashi finding him would likely end in him being dragged back to his home kicking and screaming and given a lecture. Still, he’d prefer either to seeing Sakura’s sad face.

“This is the only road out of the village.” She looks down sadly at the road in question.

“ _So she figured it out?”_ He walks past her not wanting to see the pained expression on her face any longer. “You should go to bed.” He can’t lie to her. She deserves that much. He’s not going to sugar coat the truth, but he doesn’t want to see her big, sad eyes a moment longer. It would be best for both of them if she just went home and pretended this conversation was just a bad dream.

“Why, Sasuke? Why won’t you ever tell me anything? Why is it always silence with you? You’ve never shared a single thing -”

It was clear she was going to keep talking, pulling at his heartstrings, grounding him to the village like a ball and chain. He had to shut her up “Why should I tell you anything? Just keep your nose out of my business. It’s none of your concern.”

“I know you hate me,” She starts.

That couldn’t be further from the truth, but if she believes it, maybe she’ll leave him alone. He keeps walking.

“Even in the beginning you could never stand me.” She continues. “Remember? Back when we made genin and we were assigned to our three man squads? We were alone together for the first time right here on this very spot. You got so mad at me that day.”

He stops. He doesn’t know why he stops but he does. Her voice is a siren song and he can’t stop listening.

He knows exactly what she’s talking about. She made some insensitive comment about people without parents not knowing how to act. He called her annoying with all the bitterness in his heart. He _did_ hate her.

Then she had to go and sneak up on him, caring for him after his fight with Zabuza, taking care of him and defending him with her life in the Forest of Death, fighting a tailed-beast with a single kunai to protect him, and coming to his bedside after he got hurt fighting Itachi. He shrugs off the memories of her care and bites his lip. “I don’t remember that.” He doesn’t even look at her.

He hears her take in a sharp breath. She’s crying now. He can tell.

“Yeah, sure it was so long ago right?” She forgives him right away. “But still, that was the day when it all began. It was the start of you and me… and Naruto… and Kakashi-sensei. The four of us started going on missions. It was rough back then, but more than anything, it was so much fun. I know about your clan Sasuke, I do, but seeking revenge, that won’t bring anyone happiness, not at all. Not you and not me.”

“I knew it.” He says bitterly. She’s far too perceptive for her own good. “I’m not the same as you and Naruto. I’m traveling a path the rest of you can’t follow. I know that the four of us have worked together. For a while, I thought I could take that road instead, but in the end I decided on revenge. That’s always been my reason for living. I’ll never be like you and Naruto.” He needs to leave. She needs to go back home. If she wants to understand, he’ll beat it into her, metaphorically. Even as he turns his back on his home, he can’t imagine raising a hand to hurt Sakura.

“Don’t do this Sasuke, you don’t have to be alone. You told me that day how painful a thing solitude can be. I understand that pain now. I have family, friends,” She takes a step toward him. “But if you were gone, Sasuke, it would be the same thing for me as being all alone.”

“This is a new beginning.” Not an ending, their story won’t end like this. He has a second goal and she’s the only person he’s ever felt strongly enough about completing with. One day he’ll come back. They’ll get married and she’ll have his children and restore the Uchiha clan. “Each of us has a new path.”

“Sasuke, I’m so in love with you I can’t stand it. If you would stay with me, I promise, I’d never let you regret it. Every day would be a joy. I would give you happiness. I’d do anything for you Sasuke, so please, I’ll do anything just walk away. I’ll even help get you’re revenge. I’ll do anything to make it happen, just stay here with me and if you can’t, take me with you.”

He knows she loves him. He knows she’d try her best to make him happy, it’s what she always does. But there are some things he knows she won’t be able to do. There are some things he’d never be able to ask of her. His revenge was his alone. He couldn’t get her tangled up in it.

He listens to her breath hitch as the sobs wrack her body. He turns to look at her for the first time. “You haven’t changed,” He smiles at her. “You’re still annoying.” She is, but instead of her annoying him in a way that makes him want to leave as soon as possible, she’s annoying him in a way that makes him want to stay with her and ignore his revenge quest. That won’t do.

She gasps, tears streaming down her face.

He keeps walking.

“Don’t leave me!” She screams, running after him. “If you do, I’ll scream –“

He appears behind her, catching her off guard. He needs to shut her up. He needs to sever the bond. But the softer part of him needs to leave her with some shred of hope. “Sakura,” He says softly. “Thank you for everything.”

He waits a beat for a response, and then decides he’d rather not hear it. He taps a pressure point firmly, but as gently as he possibly can to knock her out.

He catches her in his arms, carrying her bridal style. This isn’t the first time he’s held her. He remembers her draped over him after his fight with Haku. She felt so heavy. Then in the Forest of Death, she was light as a feather as the adrenalin took over and he carried her away from Orochimaru. Then after their fight with Gaara he caught her as she was falling, his only thought was on keeping her from hitting the ground.

He wasn’t in battle now. It was a quiet night. Peaceful. Nothing but the sound of the wind and her breathing, which was becoming less labored since she was asleep and no longer sobbing. He walks to the nearby bench as slowly and gently as possible, trying not to wake her. He puts her legs down first, then eases her torso down, cradling her head and placing her gently on the bench.

He looks at her sleeping form for a moment.

It’s only when he puts her down that he feels the gravity of what he’s done. He’s leaving behind his home, his friends, _Sakura._ He knows it isn’t fair to leave her like this, alone on a cold bench in the middle of the night. He knows she doesn’t deserve him leaving like this. He understands the gravity of what he’s done, but he can’t undo it, not now. Now he has a path to walk, one she can’t follow.


End file.
